Borderline
by imageofsin
Summary: Find out how it is to live on the brink of living life and living hell through the eyes of a girl who had the strength to believe and the courage to break free. JohnCenaOC
1. Chapter 1

**Discalimer: I don't own anyone working in the WWE. I just own my OCs.**

**Holla! Since Los Angeli is almost finished… I think about two or three chapters left in that… I'm starting a new one! Plus, I'm still waiting for reviews for Los Angeli… You guys are really busy ain't ya? Haha… So am I…**

**Anywhos… This story is pure fiction and its mostly a flashback story so please don't get confused! I hope you enjoy this and please review!Ü**

**Summary: Find out how it is to live on the brink of living life and living hell through the eyes of a girl who had the strength to believe and the courage to break free. _JohnCenaOC

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Astrid sat there on a comfy black leather couch as she cradled her 3-year old daughter, Jaina. Jaina was the shorter term for her full name, Jasmine Ai Carina, which meant 'gift of love from God'. Jaina was resting on her lap as her head was tucked against Astrid's neck. The little girl had fallen asleep a couple of hours earlier.

So, they may look like any ordinary mother and daughter. But truth of the matter was, they weren't. The black leather couch they sat on was inside WWE Champion John Cena's locker room. They were sitting right there inside the arena in Manila, Philippines. And another thing, Astrid was no ordinary girl. She stood 5"10 without heels, her eyes were a misty cross of blue and gray, her hair was brown and it fell a couple of inches straight past her shoulder blades. She was not too thin and not to fat, probably somewhat like the physique of Ashley Massaro. She was beautiful. Beautiful enough to be a WWE Diva.

…And that's what she was.

She had been reigning as the WWE Women's Champion ever since Trish said her goodbye after Unforgiven 2006. Onscreen, her name was Ailin. But her full name was Astrid Sadiki Aislin Mendez.

Whoops.

I forgot a part of her name.

Astrid Sadiki Aislin Mendez **Cena**.

Yes, boys and girls, she was, in fact, the beloved wife of John Cena. Jaina was their daughter, the only one as of the moment. Both were loved by the many WWE fans in the whole world. Both were champions. Both were proud parents.

Astrid stood up from where she sat and laid her daughter on the couch. She walked off to the vanity mirror not far from where she sat and started fixing up her make up. John was outside having a little showdown with Edge and she and her daughter were due out there in a while. She reapplied a coat of lip-gloss, dabbed some white eyeshadow on and reapplied mascara. She fixed her brown hair into low pigtails as she scanned what she was wearing: a pink v-neck blouse that had long chiffon bell sleeves that poofed, a black denim miniskirt that ended halfway down her thighs and a pair of white platforms. Acceptable. She was done.

She woke up her daughter and changed her clothes as well. She slipped her into a pretty white dress that made her look like a princess and into little white ballet flats. She combed her straight shoulder-length hair that had a color that brinked between brown and blonde so it looked like gold into a simple ponytail with a white ribbon. Then she finished it up with a small Chain Gang tiara made especially for Jaina. It had black and white rhinestones placed onto it with such meticulosity much to the fact that it formed the letters C and G.

Once she was satisfied with how they both looked, she wrapped her title around her waist, carried her daughter and rested her on her hip. She walked out of the locker room and to the gorilla position where a backstage crew member told her she would go on in 3…2…1.

'Can't fight destiny' blasted through the entire arena as the crowd stood up in waiting for their favorite diva. Song doesn't sound familiar? Of course it doesn't! She recorded it herself. She and John had made numerous joint albums in the past years. They also had separate albums that won triple platinum awards. But their joint ones won multi-platinum.

**_I ain't one to back down, baby_**

_**Somehow God keeps tellin' me**_

_**You can't fight destiny**_

_**It what was meant to be**_

_**So when I tried to shine, oh no baby**_

_**I ended up shining a whole lot more**_

_**After all the trauma, the troubles and the pain**_

_**It's my time to shine,**_

_**It's time to stop the rain**_

_**I live the way I want to**_

_**There's nothing I can't see through**_

_**Girl, you ain't takin' me out this early**_

'_**Coz girl you can't fight destiny**_

_**(Spoken)**_

_**I'm young, I'm free**_

_**Winning is my destiny, yeah**_

_**So maybe next time you argue**_

_**Don't forget you're messin' with me**_

_**Never mess with the glorious one, oh no**_

'_**Coz you might just end up having your destiny**_

…_**On your back.**_

Yep. She rapped and she sang pop and hip-hop, too. The fans loved it especially when she sang ballad. She had sung 'Lost In Your Eyes' for John the RAW after he proposed to her. In the fans eyes, they were the perfect couple. But nobody knew that the past haunted her very thoughts and dreams. She wasn't one with a pleasant past. As a matter of fact, John hardly knew about it.

"Hey! My two favorite girls are here!" John said into a mic. He gave Jaina a kiss on the nose and wrapped his arm around Astrid's waist as he pecked her lips. "What brings you two down here?"

"Well… Jaina had a little something for her daddy…" Astrid said on the mic as she handed the little girl to John.

"What does my baby girl want to give to dada?" John said to his daughter in his baby voice. The crowd's 'aaws' were echoing throughout the arena.

"Dada! Jaina hug you!" little Jaina said as she hugged her daddy's neck. John smiled at his daughter and hugged her back. "I love you, dada…" she said.

"I love you, too, baby…" he replied as he gave her a kiss on the head.

"Ladies and gentlemen… Not only is the whole family here to support John, but we also have a CD to promote! Yeah!" Astrid said. The crowd stood up and went wild. As usual, they were holding up their signboards with weird sayings.

"We have been recording another joint album, this is the third one, and it will be in stores in 48 hours!" John screamed as Jaina still rested on his hip.

The crowd went wild upon hearing the said album release. "I think it's about time we showed them the CD, John…" Astrid said.

The picture of the front of the CD flashed on the titantron. On the cover was John and Astrid captured in a passionate kiss. The picture was cut three-fourths of the way down their bodies. The two were on the right side of the cover as the background was red. Astrid's foot was 'popped' as she was the one on the left and John was on the right. He was wearing a plain black shirt with black dress pants (he actually wore those… o.O) and black dress shoes. She was wearing a plain white fitted baby tee and white slacks with white ballet flats. Her hair was up into a messy ponytail.

Beside their picture were the words, 'So different… Yet loved.' In white script swirly letterings.

"Those are the songs… or more preferably love songs… That we wrote together… Some of them were written on our honeymoon, some at home, some while here in the arena and many more…" Astrid explained.

"But… They all just depict one thing…" John said. He handed Jaina to Lilian Garcia before he grabbed Astrid by snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her closer so their bodies were touching and looking deep into her eyes. "It only says this…" he said before he threw away the mic and kissed her passionately. "I love you, Ailin…" he said.

"Love yah, too, Cena…" she replied.

"Alright, you guys! This ah-dorable family is out! We're headin' back! Enjoy the rest of the show!" she said as John took Jaina back from Lilian. The crowd cheered in utter adoration of the three. They walked up the ramp with Jaina resting on John's hip and her head on his shoulder.

Once backstage, Randy Orton and his girlfriend of 3 months, Kaye, who happened to be his manager, too, came to the Cena family's locker room. "Hey, JC!" Randy hollered as the two did their special handshake.

"RKO! So glad you could make it…" John replied.

"We'll be taking Jaina for the night, eh?" Kaye piped up.

"Yeah… Astrid and I want some… Quality time… It's been quite sometime since we've had it…" John smirked as he wrapped an arm around Astrid's waist who had just given Jaina to Kaye.

"Well, we'll make sure Jaina's okay… You two go and have fun… We'll bring her back tomorrow?" Randy asked.

"We'll just come by and pick her up… And don't forget… If ever she goes looking for us, tell her we're just fixing some things and we'll pick her up as soon as possible… I know she'll listen to her Uncle Randy…" Astrid smiled a genuine smile.

"You got it… We're off now… You two have fun!" Kaye and Randy said as they left the locker room with the 3-year old and her belongings. "Now, mama mia…" John whispered into Astrid's ear as he pulled her back to his chest.

"John!" she said as she smiled at the ticklish feeling John's breath was giving her. "Not right now… Let's wait until we get to the hotel…"

"But I need you now, baby…" he whispered as he nuzzled her neck.

"C'mon… Let's just head back and have fun there…" she suggested.

"Okay…" John said. They both grabbed their belongings and headed to John's rental, a 2006 Pontiac Solstice Roadster that was black. They placed their things in the trunk as they climbed aboard and headed back to their hotel.

Once there, they parked the car and headed up the elevators to the penthouse. Yes, my dears, they were staying at the penthouse. Vince McMahon thought that the two needed a nice private place to have a little fun for they've been preoccupied for the past year or so.

"Now, Astrid…" he muttered into her hair as they both dropped their things to the ground and continued to a passionate kiss. His hands roamed her body as she struggled to take his shirt and cap off in one swift movement. He brought her over to the bedroom where they spent the whole night showing each other just how much they loved each other.

-2:30 AM-

John's phone rang from where it lay on the floor inside his black jean shorts' pocket. 'Burn In My Light' played so they both knew the caller all too well to be Randy. John mumbled slight curses and profanities as he reached down and grabbed his phone.

Astrid awoke to the music and sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she stood up and wrapped a short black silk robe around her body. She walked around the bed to where John was and sat down beside him on the edge of the bed.

John pressed loudspeaker as he mumbled, "Hello?"

"_Mr. Cena… I suggest you put this on loudspeaker so your darling wife can hear this, too… I have your daughter, Jaina… So you better listen up…"_ a low raspy, yet familiar, voice to Astrid said.

John shot up and his eyes widened. Astrid's mouth was left hanging from the similar voice that haunted her very dreams.

"_Your friends, Randy Orton and Kaye are now in dreamland and I took it upon myself to take your daughter… After all… She is a beauty isn't she? Don't worry; I left a note for your friends so they won't worry… Oh yeah… Don't expect to be getting your daughter back… And Astrid, you know, Jaina does take after your beauty… She'll be following her mom's footsteps after all… I can just see her being my perfect little prostitute… (Sadistic laugh)… Buh-bye now…" (Beep beep beep)_

"Footsteps? Prostitute? What the hell is going on here!" John screamed as he turned to face his crying wife.

"Astrid! Do you know what the hell is going on? Our daughter just got kidnapped and here he is talking about Jaina following your footsteps and being a prostitute? What the hell is going on?" John screamed at her.

She calmed herself down and said, "John… I never was a dance teacher before…"

"What do you mean you weren't?"

"Well… I only taught one dance, that's for sure…"

"What was it?"

"…The… Horizontal tango…"

"What the fuck? So you're freakin' telling me that I married a fucking prostitute?" John screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I wasn't willing to become one!" she retorted.

"Then why is this happening?" he asked.

"I WAS TRAFFICKED, JOHN! CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THE FACT THAT I WAS TRAFFICKED BY MY OWN FATHER?" she screamed back.

John's face softened as he heard the news. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I didn't want you to see me as someone dirty… I just wanted to be loved… To be normal…" she said. "I wanted to put the past behind me…"

"You have to tell me what happened…" he insisted.

"No… I don't want you to know those things…"

"I have to… And I want to… Please, Astrid… Tell me…"

She sighed. "It all started when my family started going broke…." She began.

And this is where this story begins…

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**So how was it? Was it a good start? Hmm… **

**Anyways… Please review you guys! If you don't like the story, just tell me via review… Then I'll delete the story if ever… Aite? Thanks…Ü**

_**imageofsin**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own anyone with the WWE. I'm just borrowing their names for the sake of this story. We got that clear, right?Ü**

**Hola, mi amigas! Haha… There's a lot of Spanish in this chapter since it will be reflecting back on Astrid's past… She used to speak Spanish… Anywhos, I'm not sure if my Spanish is correct so pardon my grammar there… I'm still learning the language… Oh! Another thing… I love you guys for the supportive reviews! I thought y'all hated it… I'm OC, ain't I?**

**Review reply time!**

**Simplyhidden – Wow! Thanks so much for that compliment… It makes me feel good about my writing… I hope to hear more from you! Thanks for the review!Ü**

**Latingurl1523 – Thanks for loving the story! I seriously thought everyone didn't like it… But here you are, saying that you loved it! Ahe… Thanks for the review and here's the update!Ü**

**Lil'MissCena – I didn't want Cena to be the playboy most people would make him… Plus, I wanted to bring out the 'fatherly side' of him without ruining his rep… I know, Cena doesn't want kids but he loves them nonetheless, right? Anywho, I seriously thank you for the comment and for the review!Ü**

**Blueandyellow27 – Honestly, I feel bad for Jaina… She got kidnapped at age 3! But anywho, John's a marine and we know when we take something precious to him away, he's gonna want it back! Haha! THE MARINE! Haha… Thanks for the review!Ü**

**Angel chick1589 – Here's your update! I seriously thank you for the review!Ü**

**Sweetcandyfun – Well… Borderline because she's 'living on the borderline of living hell and living life'… Plus, she's a prostitute 'coz she was trafficked by her own father… And here I am, updating for my life's sake… Haha… Thanks for the rockin' rev!Ü**

**ENJOY!Ü

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14-year old Astrid Mendez ran across the dirt footpath on her way to her house. Her shoulder-length brown hair was being blown back by the wind whiplashing her body at an amazing force. In her blue-gray eyes, there was that twinkle of happiness. She ran up the hill. Yes, her family and herself weren't rich. They were just making it day by day living from hand to mouth.

Being an only child, Astrid had a lot of privileges other slightly below average family children didn't get. She got to study in a prestigious private girls' school in the city. Now, she had just finished her freshman year, being the top in her batch.

She rushed into the small house they had and bounded through the halls to the garden in the back. Her mom, Florentina, or Flor, for short, was planting some crops for them to eat. Flor was a Spanish-Filipino woman with, unusually, blue eyes and dark brown hair. She was already 45.

"Mama! Mama!" Astrid hollered to her mom as she ran out and to her mom. "Mama! Jacabé la tapa de mi hornada este año!" _(I finished top of my class this year!)_ she said the wonderful news to her mom as she showed her the gold medal that hung around her neck. They mostly spoke Spanish at home. Sometimes even Filipino or English. But those times were rare. Astrid knew how to speak Spanish, Greek, American, Italian and Filipino and was fluent in all of them.

"¡el sorprender, bebé¡su padre estará tan contento!" _(Amazing, baby! Your father will be so pleased!)_ Flor replied as she hugged her daughter. "entre y consiga limpiado para arriba. ¡Él será casero pronto así que tenemos mejor una celebración¡Oigo que él está trayendo el arroz casero hoy! Conseguiré el pollo y lo limpiaré... ¡Salido pronto para usted tienen que ayudarme a lavar los vehículos!" _(go in and get cleaned up. He'll be home soon so we better have a celebration! I hear he's bringing home rice today! I'll get the chicken and clean it... Come out soon for you have to help me wash the vegetables!)_ she continued.

"Si, Mama…" _(Yes, mother…)_ Astrid replied.

Astrid ran into the house and quickly changed from her uniform to a pair of denim shorts and a plain white shirt. She stepped into her slippers before brushing her hair into a neat ponytail and running out to help her mother with the food. While her mom was trying to catch the chicken, she picked fresh vegetables and put them inside her basket. They had a lot of crops growing in their backyard so they still had food. She brought the vegetables in and washed them.

Just then, her mom brought in a pig, instead of a chicken. "Pensé que podríamos cocinar el na del sinigang baboy en lugar de otro, puesto que es su viand preferido." _(I thought we could cook sinigang na baboy instead, since it's your favorite viand.) _Flor told her daughter as she also began to wash the meat.

Together, mother and daughter cooked dinner and waited 'til the man of the house came home.

"¡Hola¡Soy casero!" _(Hello! I'm home!)_ Reynaldo Mendez said as he entered the house. It was now 6:00, just the time he would usually come home. Rey was a Greek-American. He came to the Philippines to work but surprisingly fell in love with Flor instead. He was a man with gray eyes, light brown hair and a tan complexion.

"¡Hija¿Cómo estaba el día pasado de escuela?" _(Daughter! How was the last day of school?)_ Rey asked his daughter as she ran up to him and hugged him.

"¡Acabé la tapa de mi hornada!" _(I finished top of my batch!)_ she exclaimed as she saw her father's eyes grow wide.

"¡Muy bueno, hija¡Continúe el buen trabajo¡Soy muy orgulloso de usted! Mmm... ¿Cuál está para la cena?" _(Very good, daughter! Keep up the good work! I'm very proud of you! Mmm… What's for dinner?)_ Rey asked as soon as he sniffed the aroma of food.

"Estamos teniendo sinigang a celebrar fuera del logro de la hija... ¿Usted tiene el arroz? Iré cocinarlo así que podemos todos comer..." _(We're having sinigang to celebrate our daughter's achievement… Do you have the rice? I'll go and cook it so we can all eat…)_ Flor said, walking to her husband.

"Si! Si¡Muy bueno! Usted mira hoy muy hermoso, querido..." _(Yes! Yes! Very good! You look very beautiful today darling…) _Rey charmed as he handed her the rice. He gave her a peck on the cheek and said, "Te quiero, querido..." _(I love you, darling…)_

And so, they looked happy. Though they weren't part of the extremely fortunate people living in the Philippines, they managed to get by. They managed to feed themselves and keep the family together. They prayed the rosary every night before they go to bed and Saturday nights were dedicated to family time. They would play cards and chit chat or they would play old board games like Games of the Generals and Chess.

Sundays were always days of prayer and relaxation. They went to the nearby town church and celebrated mass. Afterwards, if there was money to spare, they would eat at a nearby McDonalds. Then they would go home and relax. They were just your normal family, having fun and living life.

But nobody knew the miseries that were soon to come.

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**I'm really sorry if this may seem short, but I made it as a sort of introduction to her lifestyle and not bombard you guys with so many things at once… I sure hope that's alright…**

**Anywho, I'm looking forward to your reviews and I'll read your stories if I can! Time isn't one of my little luxuries right now… Thanks!Ü**

_**imageofsin**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! I'm updating! And btw, Los Angeli is now COMPLETE! Woohoo! My first complete story! Haha… I'm so happy… Anywhos… Review Replies!Ü**

**Romanticpunkrocker – Muchas gracias, mi amiga! Haha… Thanks for the review, chikka!Ü**

**Lil'MissCena – Things might go a little wrong in this chapter… It's kinda like… the point of twist… Or something like that… hehe… Thanks for the review!Ü**

**XA-mee (for both reviews) – My Spanish isn't that good is it? Hehe… I'm just learning so pardon it for the time being… Hopefully it will get better… Hehe… Thanks for the 2 awesome reviews! I swear, I don't know what I'd do without you!Ü**

**Sweetcandyfun – Tsk tsk… Doing in it the comp lab, eh? Haha… Won't your teacher get mad at you? Anywhos… Hope you had a fun comp period! It's aircon! Haha… Thanks for the review!Ü**

**Gurl42069 – I hope this is more that before… Haha… Thanks for the review!Ü

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It was now mid-May and the weather was slowly getting cooler to get ready for the rainy season. Astrid pranced through the hallways of their house and to her mother who was waiting for her near the door. "Cuidado de la toma, hija... Aquí está el dinero para su inscripción... ¿Esté detrás por 11 para el almuerzo, autorización?" _(take care, daughter... Here's the money for your enrollment... Be back by 11 for lunch, okay?) _Flor told her daughter.

"Si, mama…" _(Yes, mother…)_ Astrid replied as she kissed her mother on the cheek and was off to school to enroll herself. She was a responsible, mature and disciplined girl for someone her age. She enrolled herself, went to school by herself and came home, too! Her father had trained her to do so since she was a little girl. Sometimes, in school, Astrid would be picked on for being poor. All her classmates were extremely rich. But she never paid them heed.

She excelled in her studies and vowed to one day help her family out of poverty. It was one of those dreams that Astrid really wanted to follow. Being an only child, she had to help her family.

She walked to her school and entered. She signed a couple of papers and paid for her first semester since there wasn't really enough to pay for her full tuition yet. She walked down to another hallway to gather her books and supplies. She approached the window that said 'SOPHOMORES' on it. "Hi, Ms. Santos… I'm here to pick up my books!" Astrid greeted her teacher who was the one giving away the books with a smile.

"Oh, hello, Astrid… How's your summer going?" Ms. Santos asked as she began to gather Astrid's books.

"It's going great! I'm having so much fun helping my parents with work!" Astrid replied happily.

"That's good to hear… Hopefully, I'll be your adviser this year! Math is a good way to start the day, right?" the teacher asked.

"As long as Math and I get along well, it will be…" Astrid joked.

Ms. Santos laughed. "You got that right… Anyway, here are your books and supplies… Why don't you head down there to get a new uniform?" she asked as she handed Astrid the plastic bag with books in it.

"My old one still fits me fine, miss… I don't think I need a new one…" Astrid replied, taking the bag from her teacher.

"You'll be needing a new one for this year, hon… I think you do…"

"We… Don't exactly have enough money for that, miss… So I have to make do with my old one…" Astrid replied.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear…"

"Don't be, miss… I'm fine… And I have to go now, I have to help mama with lunch… I'll see you in school!"

"You, too, Astrid! Take care now!" Ms. Santos waved goodbye to one of her students.

Astrid walked out of her school and made her way home as she carried her books and supplies. She was a few meters away from her house when she heard screaming coming from inside. "¿Qué usted me significa ' es embarazado '¡No tenemos bastante dinero para apoyar a otro niño, Flor!" _(What do you mean 'i'm pregnant'? We don't have enough money to support another child, Flor!)_ her father screamed.

Astrid's eyes widened upon hearing the news.

"¡Acaba de suceder, Rey¡No puedo pararlo¡Tenemos que tomar en éste poco que crece adentro de mí puesto que todos sabemos muy bien que el dios nos dio esto!" _(It just happened, Rey! I can't stop it! We have to take in this little one growing inside of me since we all know very well that God gave this to us!)_ Her mother screamed back.

"Lo que!" _(Whatever!)_ Her father screamed as he placed his _sombrero _on his head and ran out the door.

Astrid ran into the house to see her mother crying on the floor. "Mama… ¿Cómo lejos a lo largo del embarazo está usted?" _(Mama… How far along the pregnancy are you?)_ she asked her mother as she took her crying figure into her arms.

"Dos meses…" _(Two months…)_ her mother replied.

Oh no. This wasn't good. Another addition to the family will be needing a whole lot more work from everyone. Money wasn't something that grew on trees. This was bad. Very bad.

It was so bad, Astrid was forced to work. She missed classes two times a week just to help her family. She did the laundry of their neighbors and sometimes even other unknown people just to gain money. She did the household chores like cooking and cleaning since her mom couldn't move around that much.

Her teachers became very concerned about her situation. In the next couple of weeks, Rey had slowly leaned on drinking and smoking to solve his problems. His work down at the construction site brought in meager money. He was going insane but he tried to control his drinking in a way that would still keep his consciousness.

Ms. Santos noticed the lagging in schoolwork; the sleeping in class; the dropping grades. She decided to call Astrid into the guidance office for a little heart-to-heart talk with the counselor, herself and Astrid.

"Astrid… What's going on? You're failing your quizzes, you don't submit your homework and you sleep in class… Your teachers have been noticing this and we're highly concerened…" Ms. Santos asked as they were situated inside the airconditioned room.

"I'm just a little tired… That's all…" Astrid said.

"Why are you so tired? Don't you sleep early?" Ms. Santos asked.

"I'm not up to talking about this right now, miss… I should be going home now…" Astrid said.

"We need to know what's going on… Now please… Tell me… Do you have any problems at home?" she asked.

Astrid remained silent and looked down to her lap.

"Astrid, tell us…" the counselor said.

That moment, Astrid broke down in tears. "My dad's turning into a drunk… My mom's pregnant and there's no way we can feed ourselves everyday with this new addition to the family… What my dad earns as a carpenter isn't enough to support the family so I have to work and gain income… After school, I go to my Tita's (aunt) house to do the laundry for her… After that I go home and make dinner for the family… At 8 I go to the supermart downtown to be a bagger… Then at 11 I go to the port nearby to help unload ships… I get home at 3 and I try to do my homework but I end up falling asleep!" she said as she cried so much.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could've helped you…." Ms. Santos said.

"I keep my family away from schoolwork, Ms. Santos…" Astrid replied before leaving the room not bothering whether her teachers were screaming at her to come back.

After her first semester as a sophomore, she had to stop her schooling. They couldn't afford the tuition anymore since Flor had a lot of doctor's appointments and bills right now. Astrid worked twice as hard as her father went out to try and find more work. A heavy weight was put on Astrid at such a tender age.

Little did she know what a bigger weight she was soon to carry…

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**o.0! More suspense!**

**Please review! I'm still thinking of what'll happen next… Hahaha…Ü**

_**imageofsin**_


	4. Chapter 4

**I must say, I haven't updated in a long long long time… I've been busy with school and all, plus I've got so many parties to attend. Debuts, anniversaries, weddings, birthdays… Whew! It is a tiring world out there, I have to say so myself…**

**WARNING: This chapter contains violence but I did not dare to emphasize on it or go into detail. But this chapter sent chills running all over my body just writing it.**

**I didn't use Spanish for their speaking language anymore because some people PM'd me and said that it was quite confusing reading the lines. So I'm using English as their speaking language, with a bit of Spanish. Spanglish!Ü**

**blueandyellow27 – Aren't we all very VERY happy that we live in peace and not in the treacherous world some other girls live in? Trust me, girl, after the idea of this story popped into my head, I've done nothing but kneel down, look up to the heavens and say 'Lord, thank you for my life!' Thanks for the review!Ü**

**Lil'MissCena – This is a very creepy chapter, I have to warn you… We-eellll… Not really creepy but nauseating… Sum'n like that… I don't know how to call it but it sent goosebumps sailing through my skin… Whew… Anywhos, thanks for the awesome review! And you better update soon!Ü**

**a-mee. xo – I've decided to cut the Spanish since some people think it's confusing… I was going to ask you to check the Spanish but since I wasn't going to use it anymore, I didn't ask you! …Did that even make sense? Anyway, thanks for the rockin' review!Ü**

**sweetcandyfun – girl, you are one my hit list! First you do ff(dot)net in the school computer room… And now you're up until 2:03 AM? For god's sakes, woman! Get some sanity into your head! You are a daredevil, ain't ya, ya lil' prick? Just kidding, aiite:D This may dismay (oooh… that sounded cute! Lol!Ü) you, but I think you have to know the truth… Things, I'm afraid, won't be getting better for some time… Tsk tsk… Thanks for the review!Ü**

**FreakOfNature21 – I am so sorry for the late review! I haven't had the chance to make this update! But thanks for the amazing review! I'm so glad you're so interested in this story!Ü**

**MissPhilippinesSuperStar – Hmm… You know, I actually feel bad for Astrid… Not only has she gone through a rough past but she has to deal with being Mrs. Cena… haha! Kidding! Thanks for the review!Ü**

**OTHlover04 – Thanks for the compliment! I'll try to make it good all the way! Thanks for the review!Ü**

**xanonymous.girlx – Hey chikka! I heard you just finished 'Forever's Not Enough'! How, you ask? Well, basically because Cari's been jumping around ranting about how big of a damn cliffhanger you left her… Can you please please please write a sequel so she'll shut the hell up? I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Ü Anywho, thanks for the review!Ü**

**I'M REALLY VERY SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!Ü

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"Hija! Hija! The baby is coming! Astrid! Wake up!" Flor screamed at the top of her lungs, desperate to awaken her daughter who was sleeping outside on the couch. Astrid jumped awake and rushed to her mother who was screaming in pain. This was wrong. Flor was only in her seventh month. It was too early for the baby to come out.

"Mama… Mama… What's wrong? What's happening?" Astrid asked, her face full of panic as she tried to calm her mother down. It was already 3 AM, and Rey still wasn't home. He was probably out drinking with his pals again.

"Hija! Call the midwife! Go! Go!" Flor said before she screamed in pain. Astrid, putting on her rubber slippers, ran out the door and ran fifteen houses down the road just to get to the midwife who lived there. She knocked on the door, her feet aching from the stones that had hit them, and waited for it to open. A woman in her mid-thirties opened the door and saw the panting teenager in front of her. "What's wrong, Astrid?" she asked. Her name was Aling Marcela. But Astrid called her Tia Cely.

"Tia Cely! Mama is giving birth! She needs you right now!" Astrid barely got the words out completely because her breath was so ragged.

"But isn't it too early for the baby to come? She's only in her seventh month!" Tia Cely said, shocked by the news she had just received.

"I know, Tia, but Mama's in a lot of pain and she needs you there right now! She asked for you!" Astrid said, panicking of what could've been happening to her mother back home. "Please, Tia! Let's go!" she begged.

"Alright, come on, let's go!" Tia Cely said. She and Astrid ran the fifteen houses back to the Mendez house. They rushed in to find Flor still screaming in pain. She wasn't in a better condition than before Astrid left. In fact, she seemed a lot worse. There was water and blood all over the place. How could it be that a small town like this didn't even have a hospital for people to go to?

"Okay… Flor… Breathe in… Breathe out… Astrid! I need you to get some towels and heat some water!" Tia Cely ordered. Astrid went running around grabbing everything that they needed. She got some water and placed it inside a pot. She fired up the stove and began to heat the water.

-Fifteen hours later-

Amazingly, Flor was able to give birth to a little boy, barely 5 ounces and 100 cm. He was born premature but everything was complete. He had ten fingers and ten toes. His lungs and heart seemed fine. He was crying his lungs out and was kicking with his little feet. They named the newborn Antonio, which was the name of Flor's father who had passed away not long ago.

"Flor, congratulations… You have a little boy who seems to be in perfect condition… But you may want to look out for him, he might grow weak or something… Yo-… Flor? Flor? FLOR!" Tia Cely screamed. Astrid was cleaning up in the kitchen when she heard the midwife screaming her mother's name. She rushed in and found her mother there on the bed… lifeless and pale.

She ran to her mother and cradled her in her arms. "Mama… Mama… Mama, please wake up… Mama, please… Don't die… Mama… Mama… MAMA! Mama, no… Please… Don't leave us like this… Don't leave me… I need you, Mama! Without you, who knows what will happen to Antonio and I! Mama… MAMA!" Astrid screamed.

Tia Cely felt so much sympathy for the teenager. She was almost 15 and her mother passes away after giving birth to her little brother. "Tia Cely! What's happening to mama?" Astrid asked her.

"I don't know, Astrid… It seems like she had complications I didn't see… I am so sorry, Astrid… Very sorry…" Tia Cely spoke with a genuine tone in her voice. She felt nothing but guilty to not detect something that could've been avoided.

Astrid did nothing but hug her mother. After all that pain and suffering, she had just yet to suffer the biggest one of them all… Losing her mother. She had been the most important person in her life and now… she was gone. She cried and cried as she took her mother's limp body and brought it closer to her own… "Te quiero, mama… Te quiero…" _(I love you, mama… I love you…) _she said.

Rey came home a couple of hours after. He was drunk, as Astrid had expected. He had been a little too insane and maniacal these days that it was rare he came home with a sane mind. She knew he was depressed and stressed, but why all the more push himself to do such vices?

After he saw what had happened to his wife, Rey felt heartless and cold. He just walked out of the room and slammed the beer bottle in his hand across the wall. He felt as if he was just about to make the worst mistake he's ever done his entire life, but he couldn't help it, it was the only thing he could do. He heard the soft wails of his new son and it pierced through his soul. That was his own flesh and blood. His own. No one else but his own.

"Astrid… I want you to change into your outdoor clothes and bring you and your brother out here in 10 minutes…" he said coldly. Apparently, the drinking had made him heartless but the feeling still kept rushing in and out of his body. He couldn't help but watch his daughter walk around sad.

After five minutes, Astrid stepped out into the _sala_ dressed in a pair of jean Capri pants; a baby blue baby-tee and white sneakers. Her brown hair was tied up into a ponytail and her blue-gray eyes were red with tears. She carried her little brother in her arms as she approached her father. "What is it, papa?" she asked, her voice rather hoarse and soft.

Rey took her by the arm and dragged her out of the house. There, she saw a man with a black mustache, dressed in jeans and a buttoned light brown short-sleeved polo, with a huge malicious smirk on his face. The look in his eyes made chills run up and down Astrid's spine. He looked nothing short of creepy and sadistic.

Her father handed her brother and herself to the man. The man ran a hand down her back as she tried to inch herself away from it. His touch was cold, even through the cloth of her shirt. He grinned maliciously as he placed his hand on her neck and pushed her to the truck parked in the back. He opened the back and inside were just rows of wood set up on either side of the truck to make seats. There was a small window with bars connecting to the car up front. Other than that, there was nothing. There were no air slits, no windows or cracks. It was just dark.

She was shoved inside and her brother was taken away from her. He was handed to the man who was up front driving the white truck. The doors were closed behind Astrid as she was left in a dark quiet place. She peeked through the bars and through the dashboard to see the creepy man handing something to her father. She squinted her eyes and made the picture out. She read their lips and it was something like this:

_Rey: Where is it?_

_Man: Here… 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9… 10…. Ten thousand pesos… 2 for the baby, 8 for the girl… Pleasure doing business with you, Rey…_

_Rey: Yeah…_

Astrid clasped her hand in front of her mouth as realization struck her.

**Her father had just sold her and her brother.**

The man up front looked at her and flashed her a freaky grin. He had this scar that ran past his left eye and black eyes that could haunt you forever. His hair was brown and shaggy as his breath smelled of cigarette. He was playing with her little brother. As much as she found that sweet, his smile was far from it. As she backed away from the bars, she heard the doors behind her open. The man in the light brown polo stood there with an evil smirk spread across his face.

He stepped inside and shut the doors behind him. She felt the truck start and begin moving through the dirt roads of her town; her home. The man's malicious eyes never left her as they scanned her body head to toe, glancing at her chest every now and then. The man let out a small low laugh as he rubbed his fingers together. "Enjoy." She heard the man up front say as he closed the window with bars, leaving no light.

Three seconds after the light disappeared, she felt hands running up and down her body. She began to scream, "No! No! Please no!" But still they were there as they traced her in places she had never been touched. Slowly, Astrid felt her clothes being ripped off as the man began to take advantage of her body. His mouth ran all over her skin as his touch felt like daggers to the young girl. As easy as that, her virginity was taken away from her… More of like **snatched**.

Oh, how the innocent suffer.

The entire road trip, the two men they were with took advantage of her every thirty minutes. They traded places in which one was driving and the other was satisfying himself. The trip lasted three hours. Do the math, do you imagine how that feels?

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**I am still feeling the chills… (shivers)… I can't believe I actually had the guts to write this… I can't believe I am this sadistic… omg… But this is reality, isn't it? This really happens in the world… You know, when you just get that burst of inspiration, you never know what'll come out of your mouth… or in this case, fingers… Wait, that sounded creepy… Bah! Imma shut up now…Ü**

_**imageofsin**_


	5. Chapter 5

**It's been so long, but I had the sudden urge to write and what better way to let it out than to continue this trafficking story. I hate writing this sometimes. It gives me chills and I hate writing about someone getting knocked up and slammed around when she doesn't deserve it. Fuck this global trafficking problem.**

**sweetcandyfun – thank you so much for your support! I'm sorry this came three years later than usual. My keyboards kind of busted right now. I can't make those smileys like I always do. I'll try to update sooner!**

**xKillerstyleBlvd.– Spanglish is fun to work with! And yes, it's true. People are this mean these days. Merciless pigs.**

**TheOneandOnlyCarlyK – b-slap doesn't seem enough for what he did to her. I suggest we strip him of his manhood and let him live a life of a nomad. No one costs eight thousand pesos only.**

**xanonymousgurlx– the saddest part of reading and writing this story is knowing that it really happens out there. We could do everything we can to stop it but nothing can stop these people from torturing innocent women and kids.**

**Jun6293 – I appreciate your support. I'm sorry this update came late though. It's been a really crazy struggle.**

**Lil'MissCena – Like hell yeah. Those men deserve to rot in hell for what they put her through. Don't you just wish you could stuff them in an old shoe box and leave them six feet under? Disgusting perverts.**

**angel chick1589 – hey. I'll try to drop by your stories every now and then. I'll see what I can do. It's crazy around here. No one has enough time to read or write anymore. Thanks for the support.**

**blueandyellow27 – I thank you for the honest review. Not many people give those these days.**

**ukowme – I'm surprised you haven't killed me. This is late and short and I think that will earn me a major verbal slap shock from you. Lol.**

**Inday – Thank you so much for your support. I hope this chapter sounds great for you, too. The sadness really is bringing everything down.**

**THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support and reviews. I hope I still have them after this long hiatus.**

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"Stay in there." The creepy man who had played with her body first said as he shoved her into a dark room. There were four bunk beds in the jail cell-like cement-walled room. The air was musky and there were small rats and cockroaches fluttering around in the little corners. Astrid fell on her behind as she crashed into the nearest wall.

"Where's m-my brother?" she managed to stutter out, tears still streamlining their way down her cheeks. She could live with these horrid atmospheric conditions just as long as she had her brother with her. It wasn't like he was of any use to them anyways. "What are you going to do to him?"

"Babies earn more when young kids carry them down the street." The man said and smirked. The most Astrid could do was cry her heart out. She was frustrated on all levels. She felt violated and deprived, not to mention worried about what might happen to her newly-born baby brother. "Don't hurt him!" she screamed.

"Honey, don't count on that." He replied as he shut the door with a bang and locked it multiple times. Astrid looked around her new room as she pulled her knees closer to her chest. Her clothes were torn and dirty. Her hair was messed up in twenty-five different places.

She felt a cold hand touch her shoulder. She looked up to see a woman in her late forties. "Dear, come on. Let's get you cleaned up." She said, her breath smelling of nicotine and dead rats.

She stood up and went with the woman in fear of what else might happen to her. As she got washed off on the small faucet in one corner of the room, she noticed the other inhabitants of the room. Besides the forty-year old woman, there were two teenage girls, roughly around her age as well. They all had bruises and shot marks on their arms and legs and they looked like they hadn't eaten a crumb in a month. In truth, Astrid was scared. Was this where she was going to be for the rest of her life?

-Three months later-

For the past few months, Astrid had suffered the cruelest fate any teenage girl could suffer. She serviced men who weren't satisfied with their own wives or horny dirty old men who had nothing better to do with their time and money. She felt a little piece of herself go with every male she had slept with. In these three months, she hadn't seen her baby brother. She had feared that he was already lost or even left for dead.

"Maria…" she whispered out to the forty-year old woman who slept in the bed beneath hers.

"Yes, dear?"

"How long have you been here?" she asked, aware that the older woman was only half-asleep.

"Twenty-five years." Maria replied simply, as though the number didn't bother her at all.

"Have you ever thought of getting out? You still have your whole life ahead of you." She asked. She had thought of a lot of schemes to get out of here. She could offer her full services to one man and get out of here. She could just escape from him or even marry out. There were endless choices.

"I've tried, my dear." Maria replied, bitter in her wake. "You know those two round scars on my shoulder?"

"Yeah…"

"Those were the aftermath of my escape plan." She said and remained as cold as she could. "You see, I tried to sneak out and bring two other young girls with me back when I was still your age. I was young and hopeful. We snuck out the back way while everyone was asleep. Sadly, they fired at us. I was the only one who survived, but these scars remind me every single day why I shouldn't try to escape again."

Astrid felt her own eyes tear at the older woman's story. She had grown hopeless, just like every other girl in stuck in this hell imprisonment. The food was badly rationed and the sleeping quarters were worse than the squatter areas. Everyone had used smoking to forget their problems and missing their families caused giant breakdowns within the compound.

"We can try again, Maria. We can." She said, hoping that she could ignite another sense of fire in the woman.

Maria lit a cigarette and puffed out a giant ball of smoke from her mouth. She shook her head at the younger captive and said in a blunt voice, "Stop getting your hopes up, Astrid. This is the cage we're stuck in from now on. If you step outside, you should be ready to take a bullet. It won't matter whether you're a kid or an old woman with herpes. You will get killed with a bullet if you don't die from AIDS or STDs."

Astrid shook her head and let the tears flow down her face. She still had to learn how to be blunt, heartless and apathetic around here. It was a necessity in their line of work. _Forgive me…_ she would always say. She would follow it with the reason that she was young. She needed a lot of time to learn and get used to everything. But, she couldn't get a line out before she was met with a vicious slap, a beating to last her a lifetime and a rape scenario bad enough to render her unable to walk for the next three days.

"It's a battle of life or death, Maria." She said, convincing herself that this isn't the end of the line for anyone around here. "It's something worth fighting for."

"Suit yourself." Maria replied as she shoved the cigarette butt onto the ground in an attempt to extinguish it. She spun around in her bed and fell asleep complete forgetting about the conversation she had with Astrid.

BANG. BANG. There was a loud banging on their room door. The locks were audibly unlocked as a freakishly large bouncer-size man stepped into the room.

"You…" he said and pointed to Astrid. "You've got a customer. Get your ass out of that bed."

Astrid sat up and stepped down from her bed only to be met by a hand grabbing her hair. "Stop being so fucking slow." The man said as he threw her out the door and causing her to hit her head on the cement wall. She scrambled up to her feet despite the raging pain that was surging through her head.

They walked together down the hall as the older man kept pushing her to move faster. They got to the place where all the nastiness and rampaging sex addictions happened. The only dividers between cubicles were curtains positioned enough to leave any view unseen. She heard the moans and groans of pain coming from the other girls as they were ravished.

The large man who had fetched her opened a cubicle and shoved her inside. Before letting her get to the customer, he grabbed her arms and pulled a syringe from his pocket.

"W-what's that?" she asked, scared upon seeing the needle. She tried to wring away from him but, to no avail, found herself being injected with some strange liquid through her arm. Her breathing became ragged as the liquid began to make her feel woozy and high.

He pulled the syringe out and threw her onto the bed. Once he had left the room, another dirty old man with a goatee and beady hazel eyes stepped into the room. He looked lustful and evil, but the sight didn't ring a bell in Astrid's memory as he grabbed her and planted violent kisses on her lips.

There was something wrong. She couldn't fight back. What was going on? She didn't have control of her body.

In as little as a minute, she felt him beginning to thrust deep and hard into her. It had hurt like hell, but she couldn't do anything to stop it. Even her moans sounded strangled and unheard. Her body fell limp in the DOM's grasps as she struggled to keep her tears to herself. She would just have to live through the pain.

"…You're a pretty hija…" the man said, his eyes appreciating her half-convulsing eyes. "…I could use you in a business deal in Japan…"

That's where it had all started. After that night, Astrid was shipped off to Japan with the dirty old man. She didn't even know his name. The only thing that crossed her mind every single day was a thought of wonder. Everyday, she wondered what she was doing dressed in a skimpy bathing suit and pole-dancing while men stuff Yen in her g-string. She wondered what she was doing letting some man stick his manhood into her while she suffered a drug overdose. She wondered why her father had even done what he had the day her little brother was born.

She endured five years of this terror. Everyday, she woke up to find a new bruise on her body. She woke up wanting to see and feel the sun shining on her face but she couldn't because she was locked up in the basement. She wanted to break down the walls around her and run to where she could. She wanted to fly away but they held her passport and she couldn't get anywhere without that.

"I hate you, dad." She whispered to herself every night as she curled up into a ball on the cold basement floor. The tears had stopped coming out after her first year here. For the past five years, for the past sixty months, for the past one thousand and eight hundred nights, she had whispered to herself 'til she fell asleep.

"I hate you."

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**There we go. It's short, hardly sweet and kicking with nastiness. I felt depressed when I wrote about Maria. Twenty-five years in that line of work is not something anyone should be proud of. What do you think, guys? What's Astrid's best course of action now? How can she escape?**

**I pray that you review and not kill me for this incredibly late update. Please forgive the unhappy way of talking. My keyboard has this problem. I better go buy a new one.**

_**imageofsin**_

**I almost forgot how to write my own pen name. Lol.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hola, boys and girls. There's a pattern here. It looks as though I update on a yearly basis. I am so sorry for that. But, good news! My keyboard's de-fucked up and it's working like a peach. Although, I will stray away from those smileys. I just realized how awkward and **_**jejemonic **_**they look. (Don't you just hate those jejemons? They're a menace to the English language.)**

**Other than that, I do believe that I need to get a laptop so I can write all of these things even when I'm away. I've been travelling a lot. Fifty states to cover. So, that Jurassic piece of crap I call a computer at home might have to be changed real soon. Real soon. Thank God for summer around here, more time to write!**

**Meanwhile, your reviews are needed. WTF. Seriously, boys and girls, we are dependent beings here in FanFiction, and reviews are a good source of support and knowledge! Yes, I've turned whiny. I miss reviews, you happy now?**

**sweetcandyfun – **I don't think I need to say much, but there is that really annoying reality which is that when you think of something for a really good story, someone goes out and turns it into a movie. I've seen Taken. It's pretty good. Just kind of pissed that my plot was suddenly thrown out the window so let's twist is just a little bit. Stay a lovely reviewer!

**Rhodes Princess** – It is really sad to think that these things happen. I pray whatever I write doesn't happen to some poor girl out there. Thank you so much for the review.

**So this chapter is about to change the pace of this story. Save the whales.

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_Astrid_ didn't feel human at all anymore. She felt more like a toy to mess with rather than a living, breathing human being that, at some point, needed to see the light of day. She had suffered in this night club day in and day out. The worst part of it all was the handcuffs they put on her at night. They would cuff her wrists together and tie her to a pole in the middle of the basement. She sat there all night. When she fell asleep, she's curl up into a ball around the pole.

On some nights, she thought about how Maria was doing back the old prison-like structure they called a house. She would have been in the business for thirty years, and nothing would compare to the pain she had gone through. Imagine wasting your life just to satisfy men, sometimes even women, because you were sold or kidnapped. Other nights, she wondered where her now five-year old brother was. Was someone even taking care of him? Or worse, was he even still alive?

She would fall asleep before she ever thought of a way to answer her questions. She would doze off into a heavy slumber, evidence of the fatigue her body suffers on a daily basis. She didn't know how she managed to survive shots of an unknown drug and alcohol overdose, but, truth was, she was betting her life. She would get through all of this, find a way out and be reunited with her brother... wherever they had brought him.

"You. Wake up." Damian, the bulky bouncer with a shaved head, said as he banged on the pole she was tied to. The clanking of his brass knuckles to the aluminium sounded more like a fire alarm than a wake-up call. "You've got a customer. Get up."

In reality, Damian wasn't this mean guy they turned him into. He was a sweet London native on an excursion with his family one summer weekend. These guys nabbed his wife and two daughters and threatened to kill them. That was six years ago. To this day, he never saw his family. Rumor was that they were trafficked overseas, or even used to sell drugs or rob banks. He had no choice. If he wanted to hold onto a single string of hope that they were still alive, he had to work for them.

"_Astrid, honey, you have to get up."_ He whispered to her quietly enough so no one would hear. He had been in this longer than she had and he knew what happened to young girls like Astrid. It had been five years, but she managed to get through. She was that much of a fighter. _"They might get angry. Come on, love, you have to get up."_

"I can't, Damian." She said. He had been like a father to her. He told her countless times how much she reminded him of her youngest daughter, how much they were both fighters in every sense of the word. "I'm giving up, I can't. Let me die here now. They're just going to kill me."

"_They won't. They're going to make you suffer more and for a longer time. Get up, honey."_ He whispered.

Struggling with every fiber of her being, she got up. She trusted Damian with her life and knew he would do anything to make sure she stayed alive. He always told her that she had a future ahead of her and he'd get her out of there one of these days. She just had to hold on, even for just a few more weeks.

He brought her to the wash area in the basement and cleaned up her dirt-smudged face and arms. She was limp in his hands and could barely stand on her own two feet. "Clean yourself up, you fucking piece of shit." He said, just for the theatrics, but cleaned her up himself.

"T-thank you." She said weakly.

When she was all cleaned up and ready to go, he gave her a dose of the drug and brought her upstairs to one of the private rooms. He discreetly filled her in a little on the man she was about to encounter. _"He's younger than your usual, but middle-aged. Loaded. Perverted, so they say. Stay safe."_ He murmured before shoving her into the room. It pained him to do such a thing every single day of this so-called job of his.

Astrid gulped down the lump in her throat once she heard the door close behind her. She anticipated something sadistic to come ravaging at her, just like the previous ones had done. Some had forced their manhoods into her mouth, took her from the back by storm, slapped her all over, cuffed her while they ravaged her. One even had the guts to put a plastic bag on her head. It was highway to hell around here.

"My, my. You look like a fine piece of art." His low rumble said. "Sit down beside me."

She walked a few steps and sat down on the leather couch beside the man. She couldn't see his face clearly, but judging by his voice and accent, he was probably American and in his early fifties. He put his hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze. His hands were a little rough, saying that he was a hard worker or at least he'd been through some rough times.

"What's your name, young lady? Aren't you a little too young to be in this line of work?" he spoke, his words turning gentle all of a sudden. She knew the type. They'll be nice to you so you trust them but, in the end, they end up hurting you in the worst way possible.

"Astrid. I'm not young." She said, like they told her to tell the customers.

"That's a lovely name." He said softly. "Let me look at that face."

He hooked his index finger under her chin and tilted it softly, just so he could catch a glimpse at her features. Behind the slightly dirt-smudged face lay piercing misty blue eyes. Her nose was petite and slightly pointed with a slight bridge. Her lips were bruised, but he could see the soft pink color and the gently pursed feature. He blinked twice as he scrunched up his face. Her eyes were dazed.

He looked down at her arms and noticed that they showed how thin she was. If she had a little muscle left in her, she would've been perfect. Her bone structure was petite, but proportional. Then, he came past the syringe wounds on her inner elbow. All of a sudden, he saw his own little girl back home. This girl in front of him was someone else's kid, too. What was he doing with her?

"Astrid..." he said softly. "Tell me how old you are. How did you get here?"

"I'm not young... I'm fine." she said again. Like a mantra, that was all he got from her in that state.

It was the first time he had seen such a girl. For the first time, he pitied and sympathized with how she looked. She was lost, confused, and probably longing for some sense of home. This was hardly the best place to be for someone who looked as young as she did. If you were a father and you saw your daughter like this, wouldn't you hurt inside? Unless, of course, you were some fucked up son-of-a-bitch who was that big of an asshole.

He sighed and said, "Stay right here."

He walked out of the room and past Damian, who had been standing just outside keeping close watch on Astrid. He'd stay with her as much as he could just to make sure she wasn't being treated really badly. "Damian, where's your boss? I'd like to have a word with him." He said sternly and fixed his coat and tie. He had a plan. Damn, he had a really good plan for this girl.

"First door on the left, sir." Damian said. This man was one of the best customers in this division. He travelled a lot, but whenever he was in town, he was spent some nights in this wretched place where no one would rat him out to his wife. It was a mutual agreement. No information would pass through to the outside world, especially since most of the customers were married or at least committed.

The man walked over to the room that had "THE BOSS" printed on the door. He stepped inside and said, "Murray, my man. I'd like to have a word with you about one of your girls. The one you just gave me right now. That Astrid girl, if I'm not mistaken."

"What did that bitch do now? She's always causing some trouble." Murray spoke. He was the head in this division. "Ever since we got her here in Japan, she been nothin' but trouble like a stray dog on a fucking leash."

The man took out an envelope from inside his blazer and picked out some cash. "Here's twenty thousand dollars in cold hard cash. I want that girl for good." He said sternly. "I'm not taking no for an answer on this."

"What the fuck. For a tramp like that who earns big bucks, twenty grand ain't gonna cut it, pops."

He took out another thirty. "Fifty grand. Dare you go any higher? You know I have more. I mean business here, kid. Now, you tell me how much that girl is worth and there will be no trouble on your little parade."

"She's worth half a mil, pops. Don't think ten percent of that is even gonna put a dent on that amount. You know the big boss. He's heavy on thu' cash so if you want to talk business..."

He took out a leather bound check book and a pen and wrote quickly before signing it sharply. Tearing it from the little pad, He handed Murray the paper before sensing that they had a deal. "I'm taking her now. You keep that fifty grand. Think of it as commission. Congratulations, you just made a sale. Are we clear, Murray?"

"Ima hafta clear this up with thu' big boss, pops. I'm not su—"

"I said: ARE WE CLEAR?" The man said sternly. Murray nodded. He was stunned by the amount he presently had in his hands. This man was not messing around, and clearly, money was no object. Forget paperwork, he had hit the gold mine. This was how business was to this man. It was just like murder. Quick. Clean. Easy. No more of that contract mumbo jumbo. That was for the people who actually cared about legalities.

The man walked out of the office and passed by Damian again. He gave the bulky guy a nod before proceeding into the room and carrying the young girl out of that place. Damian couldn't help but smile.

Murray looked down on the piece of paper in his hands. It was heaven-sent. But he was in for a tough time with the big boss. Maybe this amount would make him happy. Would it?

_Two million dollars. Signed: Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr.

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**I bet two mil would be pocket money for that man. Whatever he makes in the business would be so huge, he could buy the world. Maybe that's just my world-dominating tendencies talking, but yeah. It makes sense!**

**Read plus review = more chapters. Okay?**

_**imageofsin**_

**I totally did not forget how to write my name this time.**


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